New fire ignites in the Santa Cruz County

A Santa Cruz County fire has forced multiple evacuations, burned four structure and injured five people.

According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (CALFire), the fire broke October 16 at 10:30 p.m. at Bear Canyon Road and Deer Creek Road in Boulder Creek, California. As of Tuesday afternoon it is five percent contained.

Shari Mckee, a bus driver in Santa Cruz County, said her route typically runs through one of the areas of evacuation, the Las Cumbres Community. She is currently unsure whether or not her route would be affected from the Bear Fire, but believes she may not run her route today.

While Mckee is still on her normal route, she had less children on board her bus this morning.

“I would normally have 34 kids on my bus,” Mckee said. “This morning I had 13.”

Mckee said she is experiencing chest pain due to the smoke and can see brown smoke from her home near Summit Road in an unincorporated area of Santa Cruz County.

“The fire is on the other side of [Highway 17] by Boulder Creek…” Mckee said. “But the smoke is here.”